Automobile and other female fuse assemblies commonly comprise a two-piece assembly heretofore having a box-like housing and an all metal one-piece female fuse secured therein. The female fuse has a pair of spaced apart female terminals which are accessible from one end of the housing where male terminal openings are placed in the housing to correspond to male blade-type terminals. The male blade-type terminals or conductors recently, typically extend from a mounting panel or male fuse block, as there has been a shift in the automotive industry toward the use of male terminal blocks. The female terminals are commonly closely encompassed by the housing walls. The female fuse also includes a fuse link extended, usually unsupported, between the female terminals. The connection or transition between the female terminals and the fuse link begins at the center of one female terminal and extends linearly, from a side view, to the other female terminal. At the top of the fuse link, the width of the fuse link, from a top view, is narrowed to create a fuse blowing portion.
Some female fuses use an additional component with the fuse link, such as a ceramic member, for heat conduction purposes to achieve a desired fuse characteristic. The fuse link and additional component are commonly spaced close to the housing side walls for a reduced volume of used material. The above identified two-piece female fuse assembly, with a one piece fuse, is generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,570,147 , (Ebi), 4,751,490 (Hatagishi), 4,869,972 (Hatagishi), and 4,871,990 (Ikeda et al.). However, there are numerous disadvantages with these and other fuses of this type based on the heretofore mentioned female fuse configurations.
Specifically, when the width of the fuse link is narrowed by cutting into the fuse link, it is very difficult to achieve a width which is consistent across the full length of the fuse blowing portion. The consistency of this width is significant because the width of the fuse blowing portion can be used to control the time delay of the fuse. In addition, the use of a linear fuse link, which starts at the center of the female terminals, limits the length of the fuse link. When linear bends are added to increase the length of the fuse link, a substantial amount of surface area is discarded during manufacture, as disclosed in Ebi listed above. The length of the fuse link is significant, as the length can be used to control the resistance and ,thus, the current rating of the fuse. However, the configuration in Ebi wastes a significant amount of metal during manufacture in order to increase the fuse link length. Furthermore, the use of an additional component with the fuse link, such as a ceramic member, for heat conduction purposes, increases the cost of the materials, and increases the amount of steps of the female fuse assembly.
The present invention is provided to solve these and other problems.